Albus S Potter and the Snakes of Slytherin
by seddiefan4eva
Summary: 2017 - Al Potter begins at Hogwarts. The Dark Lord rises from the dead. Death Eaters make a startling return. And poor ALbus is kept in the dark about his true role in what will soon be the Third Wizarding War.
1. The First of Many Meetings

**Albus Potter and the Snakes of Slytherin: Part One: Chapter One: The First of Many Meetings**

**Disclaimer: JK Rowling – that wonderful woman – owns all but the plot. I'm just toying with her characters a little.**

**Semi-important A/N:  
><strong>**This might very well end up as slash but for now it's a friendship fic with a few minor romances thrown in here and there. Eventually there will be a tiny Drarry spin-off which I decided I wouldn't include in the main story. This is going to be a very long fic so I've decided to split it into about three or four separate ones. For now though this one will be first year to third year. The fist chapter isn't terribly exciting but I hope you enjoy it – please review if you do, it's what keeps me writing.**

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><p>Stepping out of their large car onto the pavement outside Kings Cross Station, Albus couldn't help but feel both excited and anxious. The longest he'd ever been away from home was a few days, when his mother had been in the hospital and they'd had to stay with their grandparents, and now he was expected to go away for a whole school year, with a few weeks off here and there. He was excited, of course he was, but his nervousness almost cancelled it out. He was sure James hadn't been this nervous. But then, James was James, and James wasn't scared of anything. Not that Albus was <em>scared<em>. No, just slightly worried.

"You'll be fine." His mother assured him, opening the door for Lily to hop out.

"I wouldn't be nervous." His sister informed him, taking his hand as they went off in search of a couple of trollies, "I can't wait to go to Hogwarts!"

Albus smiled, hugging his sister to his side as they walked, "I know. You've been telling us for the past four years; maybe longer."

She elbowed him sharply in the ribs, though not hard enough to hurt him badly, "I just don't want to wait another two years. It's not fair; you and James get to go off and have fun at Hogwarts and I'll be all alone!"

"You'll have Hugo." Albus reminded her, grabbing two trollies and handing one over to Lily to push back to the car, "And the Scamander twins. And Teddy will be staying for a while before he goes off to Romania."

"I know!" Lily whined, "But it won't be the same without you. Hugo's lovely, but he's a _boy_. I won't even have Rose to keep me company, she's off with you!"

Al laughed, "You'll be fine too, Lil. I'm worse off than you; I have to put up with James and his pranks for the next eleven months."

As if summoned by the sound of his name, James appeared in front of them, looking annoyed, "Here, give me that." He said, taking the trolley from Lily, "Mum says to hurry up; the train leaves in fifteen minutes and Dad needs help unpacking the car. For a former Quidditch player he really is a weakling!"

Albus rolled his eyes and followed his brother back to the car, Lily hurrying along behind them.

"Come on!" Their mother called as they approached, "Al, start loading your stuff onto the trolley. Caius is in the front seat and your trunk is in the boot."

Al nodded and went to retrieve his owl from the front of the car. He was quite small but he still received a few funny looks from passing Muggles as he lifted him from the car. His father handed him his trunk, which he placed on his trolley, balancing Caius's cage on top.

James grinned at him as he handed over the bag containing his robes – the one thing he'd forgotten to pack, "These'll look great with your Slytherin tie."

"James." His father warned but it was too late, Albus was already responding, just as James had known he would. There was nothing he liked better than teasing his little brother.

"I'm not going to be in _Slytherin_!" Albus cried as they hurried into the station, Lily grasping her father's hand tightly.

"You might." James replied, grinning cheekily when his mother frowned at him.

"I _won't_! I _won't_ be in Slytherin!" Albus denied, scowling up at his brother. Lily watched them nervously, hanging on her father's arm. She hated watching her brothers fight, even if James was just teasing.

"James, give it a rest." Their mother sighed.

"I only said he _might_ be," Said James, grinning at his younger brother, "There's nothing wrong with that. He _might_ be in Slyth-"

James trailed off as he caught his mother's eye and saw his father frown dangerously. They were approaching the barrier anyway and Albus was almost shaking with excitement and nerves. With a slightly cocky look over his shoulder, James took the trolley his mother had been pushing and broke into a run. A moment later, he had vanished.

"You will write, won't you?" Albus asked.

"Every day." His father teased.

Al nodded, gripped the trolley a little tighter, and closed the short distance between him and the wall between platforms nine and ten. As he emerged onto platform nine and three quarters, his parents and sister close behind him, he gazed around anxiously.

"Where are they?"

"We'll find them." Ginny reassured him, guiding him further onto the platform.

Sure enough, just a few moments later, a red-haired girl with her mother's brown eyes bounded towards them, dragging her younger brother along behind her.

"Morning Rose." Harry greeted his niece, "Hugo."

They grinned up at him," Hi Uncle Harry."

"Uncle Harry." Their father repeated as he emerged from the thick smoke to stand behind his daughter. He greeted his best friend with a hug and then stepped back to grin at his sister, "Hermione, I found them!" He called behind him.

"_I _found them." Grumbled Rose, but then her mother was appearing behind her, wavy brown hair tied back in a messy bun.

"Harry! Ginny!" She greeted, "God, it is busy here, isn't it. I don't remember it being like this when we were at Hogwarts! We weren't sure we'd be able to find you."

"Rose found us." Al supplied helpfully, causing his Uncle to scowl down at him.

"Parked all right, then?" Ron asked Harry, "I did. Hermione didn't believe I could pass a Muggle driving test, did you? She thought I'd have to confound the examiner."

"No I didn't-" Hermione exclaimed.

Albus grinned at Rose, who smiled warmly back at him.

"Excited?" She whispered.

Al nodded, "Nervous?"

"Very."

"_I _want to be in Gryffindor, _or course_." Lily told Hugo, "But I suppose Ravenclaw wouldn't be too bad."

Hugo shook his head, "Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff are the best houses. I wouldn't like to be in Slytherin, but I suppose if that was where I belonged …"

"If you're not in Gryffindor we'll disinherit you." Said Ron, only half joking, "But no pressure."

The others laughed but Rose looked worried, as did Albus. As much as they knew what their parents wanted, both had their doubts about Gryffindor.

Ron glanced across the platform and scowled, "Look who it is." He said to Harry.

They all looked across to where Draco Malfoy stood with his son, an almost exact miniature of himself, platinum blond hair and all, and his wife Astoria. Draco caught sight of them and nodded at Harry, lips twitching up into a half smile before he turned away again.

Ginny frowned at Harry, who had turned an odd shade of red.

"So that's little Scorpius." Muttered Ron, distracting them all, "Make sure you beat him in every test Rosie. Thank god you inherited your mother's brains."

"Ron, for heaven's sake!"

"He's quite handsome isn't he?" Lily whispered, still staring at the small blond boy.

"Eh." Said Rose

Albus grimaced, "Lily, please!"

He hated the idea of his younger sister _looking_ at boys but he had to admit, she was quite right. Scorpius looked exactly like his father had when he was young, and yet somehow managed to be his own person. For example, his hair, though much like his father's, was not gelled back like Draco's had once been, but was instead left to fall around his face in soft curtains. He smiled shyly at Albus, a smile much unlike his father's slightly sarcastic one, causing Albus to blush at having been caught staring. He quickly turned back to his own family, including James had suddenly reappeared with news of Teddy Lupin and Victoire Weasley. Though he pretended he was as excited as the others, James was, of course, upset by what he had discovered and Albus knew it. He was, after all, the only one James had confided in about his crush on Teddy. So he smiled comfortingly at James as their sister gushed about marriage and becoming part of the family.

"It's nearly eleven." Harry told them, "You'd better get on board."

Albus suddenly felt his nervousness return and his father must have noticed, as he took him aside while his mother said goodbye to James.

"What if I'm in Slytherin?"

His father crouched down to look at him, "Albus Severus." He said quietly, "You were named for two headmasters of Hogwarts. One of them was a Slytherin and he was probably the bravest man I ever knew."  
>"But just <em>say<em>-"

"-then Slytherin house will have gained an excellent student, won't it? It doesn't matter to us, Al. But you'll always be able to choose Gryffindor over Slytherin. The sorting hat does take _your_ choice into account; at least it did for me."

"Really?"

Harry simply nodded and stood, "Now come on, let's get you onto that train before it leaves without you."

Suddenly realising the train was already filling with students, Albus hurried to jump on, leaving his father to lift on his trunk and his mother to close the door behind him.

Beside him, Rose squeezed him hand as they waved.

Harry walked alongside the train, waving goodbye to his son until he was almost out of sight. Ginny smiled, squeezing his arm reassuringly, "He'll be fine. I'm going to go and find the others and we'll all go back to the Burrow."

Harry nodded silently and watched his wife disappear back into the smoke to find her family. No sooner had she left than a sharp pain shot through his scar and he gasped in shock and pain. He heard footsteps behind him but he'd already fallen to his knees and was too busy trying to stay conscious to see who it was. Then arms wrapped around him and an all too familiar voice was calling out, "Weasley!"

"Maybe you hadn't noticed." Spat his wife from somewhere nearby, "Bug I'm no longer a Weas- Harry!" She cried as she spotted her husband.

Harry didn't respond, "Never thought I'd be in this position again."

Above him, Draco Malfoy chuckled, clutching him tightly as he helped him to stand, "Really Potter, I know you fancy me and all but _must_ you swoon whenever we meet? It really is _quite_ embarrassing; and in front of our wives too!"

Harry smiled through the pain, "You love it really."

"What happened!" Ginny demanded. She glared threateningly at Draco, "What did you do?"

"Ginny!" Harry pleaded, "Don't start! It … wasn't him. It's my scar."

Ginny's eyes widened but Harry didn't see her, his head buried in Draco's shoulder as he tried to block out the pain, "I don't understand." She gasped, "It was meant to have stopped. You _told_ me it had stopped!"

Harry didn't get a chance to reply, as at that moment, Ron and Hermione reappeared with Lily and Hugo in tow, "What's going on? We heard Malfoy shout and then Lily came running."

Harry shuddered, finally lifting his head to look at his friends, "Get them out of here; take them to the Burrow and then meet us at Grimauld Place."

Hermione stared at him, wide-eyed, "But-"

Harry nodded, and then winced in pain, "Call the Order."

xXx

Albus and Rose had sat with James and his friends for all of two minutes before they'd grown annoyed and wandered off in search of another – hopefully empty - compartment. Eventually they found one, right at the end of the train, and settled in. Rose had taken out her T*Witch Weekly magazine and Al had just started on his book when the door creaked open.

"Excuse me."

Rose glanced up and scowled at the blond boy standing in the doorway, "_Yes_?" She snapped.

Albus frowned at her harshness and looked up, surprised to see none other but Scorpius Malfoy standing nervously at the door.

"I … I was wondering if I could sit here. All of the other compartments are full."

Rose opened her mouth to say no but Albus cut her off.

"Of course." He replied, and Scorpius smiled gratefully at him, knowing the girl had been about to refuse him.

He took a seat across from the two cousins and saw Rose's gaze immediately soften as she spotted what he held in his arms.

"Awww!" She cooed, moving to sit next to him, "How cute!"

Albus laughed but he too moved to sit on the other side of Scorpius so he could get a better view of the tiny kitten Scorpius held on his lap. It was still quite small, maybe four months old, and a beautiful cream colour with a pale warm grey face. It looked up at Albus and he was surprised to see it had shocking blue eyes, much like Scorpius's.

"Her name's Areya. She's a lilac point Siamese."

Rose, seemingly forgetting everything her father had told her, immediately began telling Scorpius all about her own cat, Isis, who she'd had to leave at home. Albus rolled his eyes and stroked the cat that had just clambered onto his lap.

"I'm Albus." He said to Scorpius, interrupting his cousin before she could bore them both to death, "Albus Severus."

Scorpius smiled, "Scorpius Hyperion. Malfoy." He added with a grimace, after a short pause.

"We know." Rose muttered. Then she sighed and held out her hand for Scorpius to shake, "Rose Jean Granger-Weasley."

Albus snickered and Rose shot him a glare before turning back to Scorpius.

"My Dad hates your family but I suppose he'll have to get over it now Al has taken a shine to you."

Al's grin slipped and he blushed, "That's Rose speak for 'I want to be your friend but I'm not going to say it out loud.'"

Scorpius laughed, settling back in his seat, "My Dad won't mind, not really. It's Mum you've got to watch out for. She's a true pureblood."

Rose snorted, "And your father's not?"

Scorpius glared at her, "No. Not anymore."

xXx

Harry, still being held up by Draco, stumbled into the kitchen of Grimauld Place and collapsed into the chair at the head of the table. Draco hesitated for a moment, glancing over to where his wife was seating herself beside Hermione, before perching himself on the arm of Harry's chair. Harry, though still in pain, raised an eyebrow at him in amusement, "Comfortable?"

Draco scowled at him, shifting uncomfortably, "Very."

Harry snorted and, much to his wife's surprise, scooted over so Draco could sit next to him, "I'm sure we could find you another seat. Maybe between Ron and Seamus."

Draco glanced over at said men, who smirked at his expression, "Don't even think about it!" He hissed, shifting a little closer to Harry.

"Come on," Harry teased, rubbing his scar absent-mindedly, "I'm sure they wouldn't hurt you … badly."

"I am deeply wounded." The blond said, faking a hurt expression, "Here was I, thinking you may still care for me!"

It probably should have been uncomfortable after everything that had happened between them during the war but the two seemed completely at ease flirting and teasing each other. Ginny couldn't understand how her husband could be so friendly with their old school-rival but then, she'd never understood Harry. Even as she was thinking this, he was shifting further to the side, making more room for the blond to sit beside him, half on the chair, half on his lap.

She looked around, wondering why no one else seemed to find it odd, and almost laughed when she realised that nobody _would_ find it off. Apparently this was their normal behaviour; the way they'd been ever since Ginny had left Harry for that year when she'd had to go travelling with the Harpies.

"As lovely – and totally _not_ disturbing – as it is to watch my married godfather flirt with another man, why_ are we here_?"

Harry blushed and scowled at his godson, "We're not flirting." He snapped, glancing around at the amused faces of what was supposed to be the Order of the Phoenix, "This isn't the Order."

Hermione frowned, "Well, no, not exactly. I had to do a little last minute recruiting when I couldn't get a hold of everyone. Arthur and Percy are at the Ministry, Neville and Hagrid are at school, Angelina's looking after the shop and Lavender couldn't get away from hers, Charlie's in Spain at the new dragon reserve and Dedalus seems to have disappeared altogether. I couldn't get in touch with Bill and Fleur-"

"They're in Paris." Teddy interrupted, "Visiting her parents."

Hermione acknowledged this with a nod, "So I had to bring in reinforcements, hence the presence of Teddy, Luna, Rolf, Cho and Padma."

Harry sighed, still rubbing his scar even as the pain subsided, "I suppose they'll do. We'll need more members anyway."  
>"Why, Harry?" asked Luna, leaning forwards in her seat.<p>

"Sorry. Yes." He ran a finger over his scar as he did often when he was thinking, "I had a … vision of sorts; I saw into the Dark Lord's mind and that in itself is a bad thing because he shouldn't _have_ a mind. He's supposed to be dead. But he does and he's not; he's returning and we need to be ready."

xXx

Albus gasped as they entered the Great Hall. He'd been there before, of course, many times actually – for memorials each year and Teddy's graduation the year before, but there was something different about being there as a student, when school was actually in session. He glanced up at the enchanted ceiling, which was dark as the night sky outside, stars scattered on the blue-black background.

"It's-" Rose began

"Bewitched, I know."

Students watched them from their tables as they made their way up to where the sorting hat sat on its stool. Al caught his brother's eye and smiled nervously. James grinned reassuringly at him, silently confirming that he had only been teasing him earlier. Next to him, Albus saw his cousins – Lucy, Fred, Roxanne, Victoire, and Dominique. Almost all of his family was in Gryffindor. Except Molly, of course, who was a Ravenclaw prefect in the running for Head Girl. And then there were family friends, like the Longbottom family, who were all Gryffindors.

Beside him, Scorpius grabbed his hand and squeezed. Rose scowled but refrained from saying anything, lest she upset her favourite cousin.

Neville - Professor Longbottom - led them until they stood before the Head Table, facing the sorting hat. For a moment it was silent, and then it burst into song, startling the muggle-borns, and even some of the others.

_Oh you may not think I'm pretty_

_But don't judge on what you see_

_Just try me on and I will tell you_

_Where you ought to be_

_You may belong in Gryffindor_

_Where dwell the brave at heart_

_Or perhaps it could be Ravenclaw_

_For those with wits and smarts_

_But then there's also Slytherin,_

_Ambitious but not kind,_

_Or maybe in Hufflepuff_

_Your true friends you will find_

_So put me on. Don't be afraid_

_And don't get in a flap_

_You're in safe hands (though I have none)_

_For I'm a thinking cap_

The Hall burst into applause as the hat finished its song but Albus felt numb with nerves as he clapped his hands, barely registering Professor Longbottom's words, or even the first student scurrying up the steps to sit on the stool.

"Slytherin!" The Hat announced loudly, and the girl hopped off of the stool, looking decidedly pleased with herself as she skipped over to her house table.

"Abercrombie, Fabius." Professor Longbottom called.

He had barely placed the hat on the young boy's head when it called out, "SLYTHERIN!"

Next was "Aldermaston, Tabitha", who was made a Hufflepuff and soon enough it was Scorpius's turn and he was releasing Albus's hand and making his way up to sit on the stool. For a while it sat there in – what appeared to be – complete silence, with Scorpius looking more and more distressed. Then it finally cried "SLYTHERIN!"

Looking incredibly upset, Scorpius slipped off of the stool and made his way to the Slytherin table. Albus watched him go, wishing he could believe that being in Slytherin wasn't such a bad thing.

Five sortings later and it was his own turn.

"Potter, Albus!"

After a reassuring smile from Rose, he climbed up onto the stool and waited nervously as the hat was placed on his head.

"Well then." A voice said in his ear, maing him jump slightly, "Another Potter. It has been a while. But you aren't much like your brother, are you?"

Albus shuddered at the thought and the hat chuckled in his ear, "No, there isn't much Weasley in you. I should think you're more like your father. Yes, he would have done well in Slytherin too, just as you would."

Albus nearly choked, 'I'm sorry?' He thought, 'My father was a Slytherin?'

"He could have been; he could have been great, just like you will be."

'My father _is_ great." Albus thought harshly.

"Arrogant too." The hat chuckled, "Yes, you are very Slytherin. But you have some definite Ravenclaw qualities – you wish to do well … in everything. You would make a fine Gryffindor too, with your courage. But where to put you …"

Albus glanced at his brother, over at the Gryffindor table, surrounded by his family, then at his new friend, sitting alone at the Slytherin table, trying to ignore Jenna Hasely's attempts at conversation.

'Put …' He thought hesitantly, 'Put me where I belong.'

Albus imagined the Hat was grinning widely as it said, "Very well, then it will have to be … SLYTHERIN!"

Gasps echoed throughout the Hall but Albus barely heard them as he looked at Scorpius, whose head snapped round to stare at him with wide eyes. He grinned, seating himself next to the blond boy at the Slytherin table, his back to James and his cousins.

"What happened to Slytherin being 'the worst house in Hogwarts'?" Scorpius asked, smiling down at him.

Albus shrugged, "I figured it wouldn't be so bad if you were here."

Grinning, Scorpius turned to watch the rest of the sorting.

"Weasley, Louis." Neville said a while later.

Albus sat up a little straighter and Scorpius chuckled beside him.

"He one of yours?" He asked.

Albus nodded, watching as the hat was placed onto a mop of blond hair. It had barely touched his head when it announced he was to be a "SLYTHERIN!"

Shocked and surprised, Albus watched his cousin bound over to their table, not looking at all upset as he took his seat. He waved down the table at them before turning back to the ceremony where Rose was finally being sorted.

In the end she was sorted into Ravenclaw and, though Al knew she was upset at not being in Gryffindor like her parents, she seemed content with her placement. She smiled warmly at him from the Ravenclaw table before she began chatting with the girl sitting beside her.

"Before we eat, the Headmistress has a few announcements." Neville told the Hall, before he, along with everyone else, looked towards their headmistress.

She was a young woman was long black hair and blue-green eyes and, while she wasn't incredibly beautiful or attractive, she could be considered quite pretty by some. Albus had met her before and knew that, kind and helpful as she seemed, she was very strict. "I would like to welcome you all to another year at Hogwarts School. For those of you who do not know me, my name is Professor Periwinkle and I am the Headmistress of this fine school. I would like to remind you all that Weasley's Wizard Wheezes products are, as always, banned. Also, any student who dares to enter the Dark Forest will be severely punished. That said, let the feast begin."

Around the Hall gasps could be heard as the tables filled with food; everything from roast chicken to chips to giant bowls of different kinds of soup. Albus immediately lunged for the plate of pizza before the last two slices – as people had already begun helping themselves – could be snatched up. He dropped one onto Scorpius's plate and took a bite out of his own.

"Thanks!" Scorpius said, picking the few pieces of pineapple off of his slice and placing them on his plate before he started eating.

"Aren't you going to eat them?" Albus asked through a mouthful of pizza.

Scorpius grimaced at him, causing Albus to swallow and apologise, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand, "No, I don't like pineapple on pizza."

Albus gave him a strange look, insinuating that he thought he was crazy, before he ate the pineapple pieces Scorpius had left.

"Al will eat anything." Came a voice from behind them. Louis stood there, loaded plate in his hand, "Mind if I join you."

Albus shook his head, too busy eating to speak, and shuffled along a bit so Louis could sit down.

Scorpius smiled somewhat awkwardly at the new arrival, reaching for some more food.

"I'm Louis Weasley." Louis told him, grinning widely, "Al's cousin. You're Scorpius."

Scorpius nodded, looking somewhat dazed and feeling strangely shy as he offered his hand to Louis to shake.

"Don't worry." Albus chuckled, "He has that effect on everyone; he's part-veela."

"Ah." Scorpius murmured, turning away from Louis to resume eating.

Louis laughed, "Sorry. I forget I'm doing it; I can't really control it yet."

"S'fine." Scorpius assured him, "My cousin's part veela, you get used to it after about ten minutes. I've never met a male veela, though."

Al snorted, "That's 'cos Louis here shouldn't exist. Veelas are generally female; Louis's like … one in a million."

"It's one in a thousand, thank you very much." Louis corrected him.

Albus rolled his eyes. He loved Louis – everyone loved Louis, you couldn't help it – but he did get on his nerves. He always got what he wanted and could charm his way out of anything with those veela-blue eyes and oh-so-charming smile. And yet he couldn't even convince his father to buy him a new broom; it was completely unfair.

Albus felt eyes on him and turned to see James staring at him, looking both confused and annoyed at once. Al smiled sheepishly at his brother, shrugging his shoulders when James continued to stare questioningly at him, and went back to his meal. He would have to speak to James eventually but he'd been awake since seven that morning and he was too tired to worry about what that conversation might entail. He'd have to owl his parents in the morning; surely they wouldn't be too upset, disappointed maybe, but if he himself way happy then that was all that mattered. He glanced at Scorpius and found himself thinking that yes, he was sure he would be quite happy here.

xXx

"Of to bed now!" Professor Periwinkle announced, "Prefects, lead on."

The Slytherin first-years stood and made their way to the doors where their prefect, a tall dark-haired boy with large teeth, was waiting impatiently.

"Come along now!" He ordered, scowling down at them, "Follow me."

"That's Marcus Flint Jr." Scorpius whispered as they were led down the staircase towards the dungeons, "He's alright really, our fathers are friends, but he hates being a prefect. The Professors only made him one to keep him out of trouble."

Albus smirked as Marcus shoved a fourth year aside, "I'm guessing it didn't work quite as well as they thought."

They were quite silent as they were led through endless damp corridors underneath the lake, until they finally stopped in front of a perfectly normal looking wall.

"Nulli secundus" Marcus said clearly and immediately the stone wall slid open to reveal the Slytherin common room.

His father had told him about it, about how he'd snuck in during his second year but it had obviously changed since then. The Slytherin common room was a large room with a low ceiling, charmed – much like the Great Hall's ceiling – to show the murky lake above them. Albus gazed up at it in awe for a few moments, watching as a Grindylow swam by. The room was lit by green lamps and decorated in green and silver. There was a fireplace against one wall, lit with green flames and letting out a comfortable heat. In front of it and elsewhere around the room, were large black leather sofas and armchairs with dark green and silver cushions. On one wall was a large tapestry of the Slytherin crest and, beneath it, a desk that reached from one wall to the opposite, eight comfy looking chairs placed strategically along it. There were also elaborately carved book-shelves and cupboards but Albus barely noticed anything but the stone stairs that he was certain led down to the dormitories. Sure enough, Marcus led them over to the two staircases. He gestured to the one on the left.

"On your left are the first to fourth year dorms. First years are the first two rooms, girls on the left, and boys on the right. If you need anything, there is a prefect's room at the end of the hallway. Lights out is in half an hour." He finished, glancing behind him as the rest of the students began filing in, "Go on then!"

And so they scurried down the stairs into their dorms. The room was large – larger than it had been nineteen years ago when their parents had been at school – with three four-poster beds against one wall, and four against the other, all different. Albus immediately leapt for the bed closest to the door, a black bed with silver and green curtains, and Scorpius managed to claim a similar one next to him. A dark haired, dark skinned boy got the bed across the room from Albus and Louis snatched up the one next to him. The other three boys squabbled over the last beds, and Albus watched them in amusement.

"I'm Hadrien." Said the boy opposite him, "Hadrien Barker."

Albus nodded in greeting, "Albus Potter."

"Scorpius."

"Louis." Louis said, with his usual charming grin.

The sandy haired boy who had claimed the corner bed introduced himself as Caden Faulkner. He and Louis immediately struck up a conversation about something – probably Quidditch, knowing Louis. Albus soon learned that the other two boys were Alaric Valentine and Fabius Abercrombie. Fabius seemed to be a shy boy; either that or he simply had no wish to talk to them, and stayed silent as he unpacked his trunk. Alaric, on the other hand, was almost as hyper as James, and hadn't stopped talking since they'd asked his name.

"I'm a half blood." He announced, shoving his clothes into his chest of drawers, "My mother's a muggle-born, dad's a half-blood."

"Louis is part-veela so he's a half-blood." Albus said, "I suppose I'm a pure-blood. My mother's a pure-blood and my father's a half-blood but his mother, my grandmother, was a muggle-born so I do have muggle ancestry. It's open to interpretation I guess. We class ourselves as half-bloods though; me and my siblings."

"It'll be written down somewhere." One of the boys suggested, "In your records. I think you'll be classed as a pure-blood though."

"I'm not all that bothered, really." Al replied with a shrug, "It's not that important to me. Or my family."

No one said anything to that, not that they got a chance as the door suddenly flew open and an older brown-haired girl – presumably another prefect - peeked in, "Lights out in ten minutes, boys. Start getting ready for bed."

Grumbling, the boys scooped up their nightwear and made their way to the adjoining bathroom.


	2. The First Day

**Chapter Two: The First Day**

He'd seen James in the Great Hall the next morning and had introduced him to Scorpius. James had just frowned down at them and stalked off to sit beside Braeden Finnigan at the Gryffindor table. Scorpius had looked at Al curiously but his friend had just shrugged at him.

"He wanted me to be in Gryffindor, or at least Ravenclaw like Molly and Rose. He'll get over it eventually."

"Will the rest of your family be upset?" Scorpius asked.

Al thought for a moment, imagining the reactions when the others found out, "I expect Uncle Ron will be furious and I can't say George will be too thrilled. Rose obviously isn't happy about it but I'm sure the others will be fine. They've always said they'll accept me no matter what house I'm sorted into – I think they've always know I wouldn't be in Gryffindor." He laughed quietly, "Lily – my little sister - is going to be thrilled – now she's got family in every house."

Scorpius frowned at him, "You don't have family in Hufflepuff." He pointed out.

"We have Alice and Luna Longbottom and they may as well be family."

His blond friend chuckled and shook his head, piling sausages and egg onto his plate. Al doubted Scorpius would ever understand his family and the bond they shared, even with other people. He was an only child after all, and still a Malfoy, despite the difference between him and the rest of his family.

Albus jumped as Rose seated herself beside him at the Slytherin table. One of the second year Slytherin girls glowered at her.

"Oi, Weasley. Thought Ravenclaws were smart; this is the Slytherin table – bugger off."

Rose sneered at her, "It's not against the rules to sit at another table and I'm having breakfast with my cousin."

Albus grinned, knowing this was Rose's way of apologising, "It's okay Rose, you can go and have breakfast with the Ravenclaws."

"Are you trying to get rid of me?" She asked, not sounding very offended as she loaded her plate with food (she had inherited her father's appetite, it seemed), "We promised we'd stick together." She reminded him, "And that is what we will do. I'll just have to put up with your …" She glanced at Scorpius, wrinkling her nose, "Unsavoury friend choices."

Out of the corner of his eye, Albus saw Scorpius scowl down at his plate, ignoring the red-haired girl sitting just two seats down. Overnight, they both seemed to have reverted back to the prejudices of their fathers and neither said a word to the other.

"Thanks Rose." Al said quietly, giving her a brief one-armed hug before he began eating.

They had Charms first that morning, with the Ravenclaws. Neither Scorpius nor Rose looked too happy about this.

"Charms, in my opinion, is one of the most important lessons Hogwarts can teach you. Over the next seven years you will learn many charms from the simple household spells, like Wingardium Leviosa, to the more complex Aguimenti-"

"Merlin." Scorpius muttered to Albus, "When is he going to retire?" He whined.

Rose, who had been forced to sit on the other side of the blond, frowned disapprovingly at him, "That's not very nice, you know; he's a very good teacher."

Scorpius snorted, "I'm a Slytherin; we're not known for being 'nice'"

Rose glared at him and turned back to Flitwick, who was just announcing that they would be learning how to preform Wingardium Leviosa.

After repeating the charm numerous times, Rose smirked at Scorpius and cast the charm on the feather in front of her. It twitched slightly, one end lifting minutely off of the table before it fell back down again. She frowned, ignoring Scorpius's snort of laughter and tried again.

"Wingardium Leviosa!" She said clearly, pointing her wand at the feather. Once again, it moved slightly but didn't leave the table.

Albus sniggered at his cousin, "You're saying it wrong." He told her quietly, "It's Leviosa. Not Levio_sar_."

Rose scowled at him, "What would you know?" She muttered, annoyed at both herself and the two boys.

Al rolled his eyes and turned his gaze to the white feather on his desk. Calmly and determinedly, he said, "Wingardium Leviosa." He flicked his wand in an upwards motion and, to his cousin's surprise, the feather rose with it, drifting back down after a couple of seconds.

"Very good, Mr Potter." Flitwick called across the room, "You need to work on your control though; try to keep it in the air longer."

Albus nodded, not really listening, and smirked at Rose, "Not much of a Ravenclaw, are you?"

xXx

Rose wasn't in their next class which was just as well, as she would have outdone them every time. Quidditch was always going to be Rose's best subject. The Weasley had been born to be a Quidditch star, and was better even than Albus, who had been taught by the 'youngest Quidditch player in a century', as Quidditch professionals still insisted on calling him.

Perhaps Rose had inherited her skills from her father; perhaps she had picked it up from all of those Quidditch books she's read growing up. All Albus knew was that she'd beaten him in Quidditch every summer since they were old enough to play.

Professor Wood grinned at them as they filed out onto the grounds, where their brooms lay in two rows on the ground, waiting for them. Madam Hooch had retired the year before James had started at Hogwarts, and Oliver Wood had been teaching ever since. Rumour was he had been kicked off of the Quidditch team he'd been playing for but no-one knew why; he was a brilliant player and a brilliant teacher too, when he stopped thinking about Quidditch long enough to remember that first years weren't allowed to play.

"Come on now!" He called to a few stragglers at the back of the group, "We haven't got all day." He paused and waited until they had all crowded round him before he continued speaking, "For your first lesson we'll be learning how to control your brooms. Now, choose a broomstick and move to stand on the left side of it." Again he paused, waiting for them to do as he'd instructed, "Good. Now, stick your right hand out above your broom and say firmly, 'Up!'."

Scorpius frowned. Of course, he'd been on a broom before. On his eight birthday – that had been the first and (he vowed) the last time he'd go anywhere near a broom. Next to him, Albus shouted his command and the broom flew up into his grip. Scorpius sighed. It figured that Al would be a natural on a broom, his father being who he was.

"Up!" He commanded, scowling when the broom only writhed on the damp grass for a moment before falling still, "Up!" He said again. Nothing.

Beside him, Al chuckled, "Say it like you mean it, Scorp. Don't be afraid; it's not like it's going to hit you in the face or anything."

Across from him, a small Gryffindor girl with brown pigtails and large brown eyes, named Tara, yelped in surprise as her broom swung up off of the grass and whacked her on the nose, before flopping back down at her feet. Scorpius looked at Albus accusingly for a short moment before he lowered his eyes to glare at the broom lying at his feet, "Up!" He said again, surprised when it did as he said and flew into his hand. He flinched slightly as it made contact but managed to keep a hold on it as it struggled in his hand.

Al grinned at him, "Told you."

"Know it all." Scorpius muttered, kicking his friend lightly in the shin.

"Pure-blood." Al teased, kicking him back.

Oliver - Professor Wood – glanced at them, shook his head and carried on with his explanation of broomstick safety with two muggle-borns who seemed to be very nervous at the thought of leaving the ground.

A good fifteen minutes later, when everyone had managed to gain control of their broomsticks, Professor Wood began his explanation of the actual flying.

Scorpius looked very worried as he mounted his broom, while Albus half stood/ half sat confidently as he waited for their next instruction. In all honestly, he found it quite boring. Having been taught flying at an early age, he questioned the need for him to take the class. Still, it was hilarious to watch Scorpius as he lifted off.

The boy's expression was a mixture of fear, pride and wonder at having been able to take off. Albus smiled at him as they hovered mere inches off of the ground. The blond still looked nervous, but grinned back all the same.

"I hate flying." Scorpius told him later, when his feet were once again planted firmly on the ground, "Father bought me a toy broom for my second birthday but – apparently – I took a tumble head-first into a pot of my mother's Fire Flower. I wouldn't go on it after that – kept bawling whenever I saw the damn thing. The last time I was on a broom was three years ago when my cousin roped me into a Quidditch game with a couple of his 'friends'. Or, as I like to call them, evil minions."

xXx

Rose had caught up with them at break and had even spoken to Scorpius civilly for all of two minutes before they were back to glaring at each other when they thought the other wasn't looking. It annoyed Albus no end but he supposed he'd have to put up with it. Rose was his cousin and they were close, but Albus really liked Scorpius; he'd never had a best friend outside of his family – with such a large family there was no need, really – and he and Scorpius were quickly becoming close; closer, almost, than he and Rose.

"What's Dad going to say when he finds out his favourite nephew has been sorted into Slytherin?" Rose asked her cousin, eyes closed as she leaned against a large oak tree a short distance from the castle, soaking up the sun's rays, "You know what he's like."

Albus looked up at her from where his head lay on her lap, "James is his favourite. But he's going to go mad when he finds out, isn't he?" He paused, readjusting his legs so his feet weren't digging into Scorpius's thigh, "It's stupid; Slytherin is no different from any other house. We've just got a bad reputation."

Rose raised an eyebrow, frowning down at him, "'We'?" She repeated, "You've been in Slytherin for less than 24 hours and you're already speaking as if you belong there."

Scorpius moved suddenly, dislodging Al's feet from his lap, "Maybe that's because he _does_ belong there! The sorting hat doesn't sort you without good reason; Al is quite obviously a Slytherin."

"'Obviously'?" She scoffed, "Al doesn't have a Slytherin bone in him!"

"I am here, you know!" Albus muttered.

"He's a pure-blood, he's obviously ambitious and he didn't ask _not_ to be in Slytherin. If you've read Hogwarts; A History then you'll know that the hat takes your opinions into account."

Rose scowled, standing up and letting Albus's head fall to the ground.

He groaned, rubbing his head as he sat up, "Where are you going?"

"Ravenclaw Tower. He questioned my Ravenclaw-ness; of course I've read Hogwarts; A History! Besides," She sneered, glaring down at Scorpius, "I don't associate with Slytherins."

And with that, she grabbed her book-bag and stormed off towards the castle, red hair swaying behind her as she walked. Albus sighed, leaning his head back against the tree.

Scorpius watched him nervously, "I'm sorry." He said quietly, "I didn't mean to make her leave; she just … really gets on my nerves."

Albus smiled kindly, though he didn't open his eyes, "It's fine, Rose gets on everyone's nerves. You'll get used to her eventually. The rest of my cousins are perfectly normal." He paused, "Well, _almost_."

Scorpius laughed, "Your family sounds amazing."

Al chuckled, "They are; there's never a dull moment in Weasley Village."

"Weasley Village?" Scorpius asked.

"Yeah. Over the years all the Weasleys have built houses around the Burrow – that's where our grandparents live – and it's turned into a little village so that's what we call it. We even have a little square where we have parties and stuff. We – us Potters – don't live there, though. Mum wanted to, but Dad won't leave Grimauld Place. He says it reminds him of family. I wouldn't mind it so much if he could get that portrait of Mrs Black of the wall; the wretched woman keeps screaming at me … well, she screams at everyone but I swear she hates me the most." He paused, eyeing Scorpius, "You'll have to come visit some time. I suppose she'll like you, what with your Black blood. Mind, she doesn't like Teddy much, but then, his mother was a blood-traitor and his father was a werewolf so … he doesn't class himself as a Black, anyway; goes mental when anyone brings it up."

"I'd love to meet Teddy. Grandmother talks about him and his parents a lot; she speaks most of his grandmother, though, her sister – Andromeda. She says she regrets the way she acted, mostly because it lost her her sister"

"Aunt Dromeda talks about her too. She'd love you." Albus added, grinning, "She's almost as bad as Grandma when it comes to kids – she loves us Weasleys and Potters 'cos there's so many of us. And you're related to her, so that'd be even better."

Scorpius snorted, "What is it with the women in your family?"

Al stuck his tongue out childishly, "You should come stay over Christmas and meet them all!"

His friend looked unsure, and frowned over at him, "I don't think our parents would like that idea very much; and nor would the rest of your family if Rose and your brother's reactions are anything to go by."

"Forget _them_!" Albus said, linking arms with his blond friend, "_We're_ friends so _they _will just have to get used to it."

xXx

"Dear Mum, Dad, Lily and anyone else who happens to be there when this arrives,

Albus here. So, I got sorted into Slytherin. I don't know how you'll feel about that; I know you said it wouldn't matter but, you never know. It's actually not as bad as I thought it would be. The common room is amazing. Not at all how you described it! Everything's green and silver, and there's a silver fireplace with green flames and there's forest green armchairs and silk cushions and a huge black sofa that fits almost all of us boys on at once. Also, the windows and ceiling are charmed so you can see the lake – Louis swears he saw a mermaid swim past this morning but no-one believes him. They don't come that close to the shore usually, so they?

Yes, Louis was sorted into Slytherin too, but there was never any doubt about that, was there? Even Uncle Bill said he'd end up in Slytherin. At least that means I have one friend already. But he's gone off with this boy called Caden who's also in Slytherin in our year, so I've found myself a _new_ friend. You probably won't like him much. At least, Mum won't. I know you – Dad, because I know you're reading this aloud to everyone – don't have anything against his family anymore. Or you say you don't. See, I'm best friends with Scorpius Malfoy. It's amazing how much we have in common. He's not very good at Quidditch but he's an amazing artist (like me – just kidding, Mum, calm down) and he's just brilliant. You'll love him Lily, truly you will. I don't know how else I can describe him, though. He's laughing at me now because I asked how I should describe him – the git. Sorry about that ink blot there, Scorp kicked me in the arm.

Rose is mad at me, but mostly she's angry with Scorpius. You should talk to Uncle Ron; she's so nervous about upsetting him that she can't even be within three metres of Scorpius without snapping at him. Though that might be partly because of their personalities. She's a Ravenclaw, you know. But of course, she would be, it _is_ Rose after all.

The other boys in my dorm are okay. There are seven of us altogether: Me, Scorp, Louis, Hadrien, Caden, Alaric and Fabius. Hadrien's quite quiet – he hasn't spoken much to anyone except Fabius, who hasn't spoken to any of us _at all_ (excluding Hadrien). They're both rather weird; I expect they're pure-bloods, just from the way they act. Alaric is a lot like James (just don't tell either of them I said that); he has his prejudices, mostly when it comes to other houses, but he's an alright person, I suppose. He's strange though – very … enthusiastic? Hyper might be a better word. _I _haven't spoken much to Caden. Actually, I get the feeling he doesn't like me very much. I have no idea why. Anyway, he's been spending all of his time with Louis and I've been hanging out with Scorpius.

Speaking of Scorpius, I was wondering if you would mind terribly if I invited him over during the Christmas hols. I'm sure everyone (okay, _nearly_ everyone) would love to meet him. Obviously it's up to you and Mr and Mrs Malfoy but I really hope you'll agree.

One last thing before my hand falls off: don't worry Lily, I'm sending a package with another owl. I thought you might want a few souvenirs from Hogwarts. They're just a few things I found lying around, and some photos I got off Colleen Creevy. You know, Dennis Creevy's daughter. She says you knew her uncle, Dad. She's quite amazing; she knows all about cameras and different types of photo – muggle and wizard. Anyway, I hope you like them; the package should arrive in a short while. I'll have to try and get a school owl, since Caius is too small.

I'll write again in a week or so, hope everything's okay at home and everybody's well. Write back soon,

Albus Severus


	3. The First Letter, The First Lie

**It's been a while, I know. But I'm taking my GCSEs at the moment and my free time has pretty much been revision, revision, coursework, revision these past months so I won't apologise for my absence, if you don't mind. My grades mean more to me than fanfiction, to be perfectly honest. We have a bit of a break now, before the next lot of exams, so I'm trying to update while I have the choice. I hope you enjoy. I spent almost a month trying to complete this chapter alone, so it may be a while before the next one.  
>Reviews make me happy.<br>x Aly x**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Three: The First Letter, The First Lie.<strong>

Harry had just been drifting off to sleep when Caius had arrived outside of his window; he'd tried to ignore him for the longest time but the bird would just not let him be and kept tapping and scratching at the window. Eventually he'd had to get up and let him in, frowning when the bird gave him what appeared to be a reproachful look. He'd never liked the owl - the thing always seemed to be glaring at him. He took the letter from his leg and, with a slight nip to his hand, the blasted bird took off out the window, swiping Harry with his wing on his way out.

He read over the letter, the frown remaining on his face. Slytherin; his son had been sorted into Slytherin. Of course he had nothing against Slytherins – not anymore, anyway – but it was still a shock. _His_ son. In _Slytherin_. It wasn't so much that he was disappointed; no, he was proud of his son. Extremely proud, in fact. Albus had accepted that Slytherin was obviously where he was meant to be and was already making friends.

No, Harry was not disappointed. Rather, he was concerned. He'd never have expected his son to be sorted into Slytherin. Al wasn't like that; he had none of the characteristics of a typical Slytherin. Of course, few Slytherins could say they had the characteristics of a 'typical' Slytherin, simply because the house had changed so much since the war; was still changing. Still, he knew Albus would find it difficult to fit in in the house; he was just so different from the others.

Not only that but, if Harry was correct and Voldemort was in deed returning, Slytherin was where Al would be most vulnerable, surrounded by the children and grand-children of Death Eaters, most of whom would probably end up serving the Dark Lord when he did resurface.

But he knew he couldn't explain any of this to Albus. No, the boys – and the rest of the Wizarding world – had to stay oblivious to Voldemort's impending return until they were absolutely sure. Though, Harry didn't see how much more sure they could be. Voldemort _was_ returning. He'd seen it with his own eyes. Or, rather, Voldemort's eyes. However, Kingsley had convinced himself and half of the order that it was possible that Harry could have been under the influence of Leglimens(?) at the time of – what they referred to as – the vision. And so they had resolved to keep the public in the dark about their discovery, at least until they had more information.

His reply, therefore, was severely lacking in information and, to be honest, truth. He hated lying to his son – hated lying to anyone – but it was necessary and so, when Albus received his father's letter, he was extremely disappointed.

xXx

'Dear Albus,

I can't say I'm thrilled that you've been sorted into Slytherin and we both know your mother won't be at all happy, but I hope you know that I am very proud of you, regardless of your house. I hope Scorpius will turn out to be a good friend – better than his father was, at least – and I'm sure Louis will tire of Caden eventually. As for Scorpius visiting over the summer – I have no problem with it so it's entirely up to the Malfoys. And your mother, of course.

I'm glad that your dorm-mates are okay, though. I'll admit, I am a little worried about you being surrounded by the children of Death Eaters but that is probably just my Gryffindor prejudice shining through.

Everything is fine here. Teddy will be leaving soon for Romania in a couple of days so he's been hanging around a lot. We've been staying at Grimauld Place for the past few days; Kreacher isn't looking so good so Lily demanded we stay with him. You know how she dotes on him; _why_ exactly, I will never know.

She misses you but I have to admit, she's been so busy with Kreacher that she hasn't had much time to get very upset. That's probably a good thing. The others all say hi. I haven't told them about your sorting yet – I'm going to tell them soon, though. I'll write again when I do.

Be good, Al, listen to your Professors and don't get into too much trouble. Don't let your brother bully you and, finally, have fun.

Love always,

Dad.'

"Stay out of trouble?" Louis repeated when Albus had finished, "He does _know_ you, right?"

Albus rolled his eyes, folding the parchment letter and putting it back in the envelope. He ignored Scorpius snickering beside him and reached for another slice of toast.

"Merlin, Al, do you ever stop eating?" Louis teased, prompting Al to scowl at him.

"Why don't you go back to Caden and leave me in peace! It's not my fault I'm hungry."

Louis, surprisingly, looked horrified at the idea of being sent back to the other boy, "Merlin, no! He's a Magpie, Albus! A _Magpie_!"

On Albus's other side, Scorpius frowned, "He's a what?"

"A Magpie." Albus repeated, shaking his head, "He supports the Montrose Magpies; Louis hates them. They're Puddlemere's main rivals."

Scorpius glanced across Albus at Louis, looking surprised, "You're a Puddlemere fan?" He asked, grinning when Louis nodded, "Father's going to love you." He said, chuckling, "He's a huge Puddlemere fan; Marcus Flint used to play for them and he gave father a lot of the memorabilia he was given when he left."

Albus noted with amusement that Louis' eyes had gone wide while his friend was speaking and now his cousin was leaning forwards, talking quietly with Scorpius. It was nice that they were getting along but, feeling a bit of a third wheel, Al slipped out of his seat and, after a brief glance around the room, he made his way over to the Gryffindor table, where his brother and cousins were all crowded around a parcel.

"What's going on?" He asked, startling James and making him drop the package, which let out a suspicious hiss.

His brother turned to glare at him, "None of your business, snake." He growled.

Victoire, the oldest of their many cousins and the current head girl, frowned at him and slapped him on the arm, "_James Potter_!" She exclaimed in her thick French accent (picked up from her mother, of course), drawing the attention of several other Gryffindors near them, "'E is still your little brother, no matter what 'ouse 'e is in! Your father told you to look after 'im!" She put a reassuring arm around Al's shoulder's, "We don't care about your 'ouse, Ally, _do we_?" She said, glaring threateningly at her sister and cousins.

Domi grinned at Albus, "To be honest Al, we kind of expected it, with the amount of time you spend with Louis. That boy was always going to be a Slytherin; we're just sorry he dragged you down with him."

Though he knew she was kidding, Albus couldn't help but scowl at her. That was a mistake, as Lucy immediately began giggling.

"Oh and look, he's already perfected the Slytherin Scowl!"

Molly rolled her eyes but Al saw her lip twitch as she tried to hide her smile.

"Shut up." He laughed, taking a seat beside Victoire, who was refusing to release her hold on him. James still frowned at him but he handed the package over, explaining that it was from Uncle George and supposedly contained enough pranks for the whole school year.

"Who wants to open it?" Asked Roxanne, glancing around at the others. When no one volunteered, she sighed and took the box herself, "You're all chicken." She muttered, already unwrapping it.

Albus leaned back as she opened it, as did a few of the others. You could never trust George completely, it wasn't that he always intended for these things to happen but the man was terrible at packing and things tended to blow up … literally.

Roxanne rolled her eyes, emptying the contents onto the table. Her eyes went wide, taking in the large amount of products spread out before her. Like her father, she had a talent for trouble. Her twin brother, Fred, was the quieter of the two but Roxie always managed to rope him into her schemes. If there was trouble at Hogwarts it could be assumed that the twins were behind it.

Al had to admit, George had been good to them this year: 3 Punching Telescopes, 2 Portable Swamps, 5 Trick Wands, Peruvian Instant Darkness Powder, 3 Skiving Snackboxes, a huge box of Canary Creams, an Anti-Gravity Hat, a Snake in a Tin, a Demon Box, a large bunch of Never-Miss-It Mistletoe and a pair of Sleepy Spectacles.

Smirking, Victoire stood, "I'm going to pretend I know nothing of thees." She informed them, "In return, I want you to be careful thees year. No opening the Demon Boxes in front of Peeves, eet took us hours to calm 'im down last time. And no 'anging the mistletoe in doorways, eet causes pile-ups and disrupts classes."

Roxanne did her best to look innocent but Vic simply snorted and sauntered off.

"We're going to have so much fun this year." Roxy cried when the head girl was completely out of sight, "Especially now we have an extra pair of hands." She smiled pointedly at Albus, who – wide eyed – tried to protest, only to be ignored as Roxanne went on to explain some of her plans.

James grinned, slapping his brother on the back, "Don't worry Alby, I'll look out for you."

"What do you want?" Al asked suspiciously, knowing better than to believe his brother was just being nice.

James's grin widened, "You know me so well." He paused briefly, "I need to borrow the cloak."

Albus frowned at him for a moment. When James had first started at Hogwarts their father had given him both the Marauder's Map and the invisibility cloak – mistakenly, some might add, as it was these that aided him in his trouble-making – but James had _kindly_ given Al the cloak for his 11th birthday.

"What happened to you not needing it? _You _said you could make do with only the map. I haven't even used it yet!"

James rolled his eyes, "I'll give it back to you tomorrow, I promise."

Al eyed his brother suspiciously, "What do you need it for?"

"Nothing really." When Albus gave him an unimpressed look, James backtracked, "I'm taking Anna Koski to Hogsmeade after school."

Anna Koski was a Hufflepuff in the year below James. She was very beautiful and highly sought after by the boys of Hogwarts but she had a very protective family. Albus only knew this because James had recounted an event the year before when the oldest Koski boy had put a second year Slytherin in the hospital wing for daring to curse his little sister.

"Hogsmeade trips start next week; you can't wait until then? Besides, why would you want to take _her_ to Hogsmeade?"

"I can't just sit around waiting for Teddy to get his act together and stop being so oblivious." His voice had dropped so the others couldn't hear him but he spoke forcefully, looking both upset and frustrated, "Anyway, he's dating Vic now and it's obvious he doesn't feel that way for me."

"You're giving up." Al said simply.

James scowled at him, "Potters never give up. I'm simply moving on. Anna's been after me since the middle of last year, I'm giving her a chance."

Al hesitated for a moment, "Don't hurt her, James," He warned, opening his backpack to get the cloak, "She's a nice girl with … very _scary_ brothers."

James simply rolled his eyes, taking the cloak and ushering his brother to the door, where Scorpius, Louis and Rose were waiting for him, "I can look after myself!" He called after him.

xXx

The pranks started at lunch that same day. Albus was eating his lunch alone as Rose was helping out in the library and Scorpius and Louis, who had been working together in potion, had both gotten clean-up detention when their potion exploded in their professor's face, the cauldron melting into the table. He was reading the latest edition of Seeker! magazine when the first squawk sounded. He looked up, startled, only to find himself sitting opposite a large canary. Behind him, the whole Gryffindor table burst out laughing.

Sighing, Albus allowed a small smile to grace his lips, just as another two Slytherins let out squawks and transformed into great canaries.

Albus frowned. They should have turned back by now. At least the first one should have been moulting his or her feathers. He glanced back at the Gryffindor table but they didn't seem fazed by the delay. Had Uncle George changed the formula? He glanced up at the head table; Professor Periwinkle looked on with fascination as yet another student transformed into a yellow-feathered monstrosity. The other teachers remained unfazed, by now more than used to Weasley pranks.

Shrugging, Albus turned back to his lunch. Taking a bite of his sandwich, Albus suddenly found himself with a mouthful of feather and an inability to hold his sandwich. He opened his mouth to spit out the soggy feathers but all that came out was a cough and a squawk. Behind him there was a thump as James fell off of his bench.

xXx

"Albus is in the hospital wing." Ginny announced, entering the kitchen with a folded piece of parchment held up between too fingers.

"What?" Harry panicked, momentarily forgetting his headache, "What happened? Is he okay."

Ginny nodded, handing him the parchment, "It was just a prank. Apparently he's stuck as a canary for the time being. Something about the ingredients of canary creams reacting when baked into bread. They put it in the sandwiches."

Harry sighed, rubbing his temples, "James, I suppose."

"You'd think he'd look out for his brother, him being the oldest, but it seems to be him that does Al the most damage."

From the corner of the room, Draco snorted, "And _that_ is why Malfoys only ever have one boy."

Ginny scowled, "Are you still here?"

Draco had been in and out of Grimauld Place since the incident at the station and was spending the majority of the day running after Harry. Ginny wouldn't mind – in fact it gave her a bit of a rest – but Harry seemed to be confiding more in his childhood rival – someone who had worked for the man who had tried to kill him – than in his own wife.

"Don't you have a job or something?"

Harry groaned, resting his head on the cool wood of the table. He did wish they wouldn't fight, it only made his head worse.

"I've been given the week off, Weaslette, we've been over this. Look, we both want the same thing, right? To help Harry? Well-"

"I don't understand." Ginny said suddenly, cutting Draco off as he prepared to launch into his 'Harry comes first' speech.

"Well that's not unusual." Draco muttered at the same time as Harry asked, "What don't you understand?" his voice muffled by the wood.

Ignoring Draco's comment, Ginny turned to her husband, "When did you two suddenly start being civil to each other. The last I remember, you were glaring at each other from opposite sides of the Great Hall during clean-up!"

Draco frowned, glancing between the two Potters, "You never told her." He concluded after a moment, "I can't believe you didn't tell her!"

Harry's head snapped up and he scowled a Draco, "Oh and I suppose Astoria knows." He snapped.

Ginny, completely lost in the conversation, dropped down into a chair to watch the two argue.

"She does, actually." Draco replied, "She's always known. We didn't marry for love," He added, "You of all people know _that_!"

Looking suddenly very uncomfortable, Harry glanced over at Ginny, and then back to Draco, "Do we have to talk about this now?"

Draco hesitated for a moment, then "No. No, I suppose not." He decided.

There was an awkward silence, in which Ginny tried to catch up on what was going on, and then,

"I suppose I should go to work." Draco was shrugging on his coat and reaching for his briefcase, his gaze firmly fixed on anything but Harry, "I'll be back around tomorrow evening."

He was making a beeline for the door and, on impulse, Harry reached out as he passed and grabbed his left forearm. The reaction was instantaneous – Draco snatched his arm away with a hiss, his right hand flying up to rub his stinging forearm.

Three pairs of eyes widened and Draco rushed to roll up the sleeve of his shirt. He let out a pained whimper at the sight before him; the Dark Mark that had faded into a scar not three years ago was now a dark grey, the snake writhing slightly on his arm.

"That's not possible." Ginny gasped.

Harry groaned, sliding further down into his chair, "I didn't expect this to happen so soon; he shouldn't be strong enough yet."

"He shouldn't be alive." Ginny corrected, her earlier argument with Draco forgotten as she patted his back comfortingly.

"But he is."

xXx

It was two weeks later – mid-September – when news finally reached Hogwarts of trouble at the Ministry.

People had been staring at Albus all morning, whispers breaking out behind him wherever he went. No-one would tell him what was going on though, not even his dorm-mates. Scorpius was just as confused as him, as was Louis, and the other boys kept skirting around the question. It wasn't until the end of their second lesson that one of the girls finally took pity on him and handed him her copy of the Daily Prophet.

"'Ministry in Chaos – Harry Potter Missing'!" Albus cried, staring down at the paper in his hand.

The girl – a petite girl with long dirty-blonde hair and a kind looking face, despite her Slytherin robes – smiled reassuringly at him, "It's not what it seems." She paused, glancing around at the emptying corridor, "I'll tell Slughorn that you'll be late."

Albus stared after her as she hurried after the rest of their class, who were quickly departing for their next class.

"What does it say?" Scorpius asked, as he and Louis peered over Albus's shoulders at the paper.

Albus glanced over the article, rolling his eyes at the mentions of 'The Chosen One' and 'The Boy Who Lived' and 'Defeater of the Dark Lord'.

"Dad's taken a month off work for … something to do with a Phoenix. The Ministry thinks it has something to do with a new Dark Wizard."

Louis inhaled sharply, his eyes going impossibly wide, "The Order of The Phoenix?" He asked, breath tickling Albus's ear.

He shoved him back and whirled around to face him, "Yes. Why?"

"Oh, Al." Louis breathed, "They … they were the ones that fought against You-Know-Who-"

"-Voldemort." Al corrected, "Fear of a name only increases fear of the thing itself." Then, "Dad's rebuilding the organisation that opposed Voldemort. But … why would … what does that mean?"

"I don't know." Louis replied honestly, glancing between his two friends, "But I don't think it's good."

* * *

><p><strong>I always though of Victoire as having a French accent like her mother. Being the oldest, I imagine she spent a lot of time in France with her maternal family, less so than her two younger siblings, so in my head she always has a French accent, while the others didn't. I think they can all speak French though, at least a little. I think Fleur would have made them learn.<strong>


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